I was a ultra walkerwho has crossed the usa and covered many km in Austraila covering thousands of km at a time.

At 67 I want to become a mature age ultra runner ti highlite the damage drugs are doing to families like my own.

My question is I seem to find it hard to keep my heart rate down and in so doing difficult to run for extended periods.With that in mind will i achieve similar results in weight loss and fitness by running 1 minute and walking 1 minute.

Welcome to the wonderful thing called the body Everyone is different and this includes heart rate and calories. As long as you're within the "safe" limits, I wouldnt worry too much about it - we're all unique. If you've got concers about your heart rate - pop along to see your GP and get their confirmation. They referred me to a cardiologist who did a series of tests and made sure that my ticker was running as it should.

To highlight the difference in calories - On a five miler last week I burned 1000 calories according to my garmin. My friend that ran with me during that session burnt 650.

For your Garmin - make sure that it's calibrated correctly (height, weight stats etc). This should give you a semi accurate reading.

The increase in heart rate and respiration rate are important for improving your cardiovascular fitness but the reality is that we all have to work with our current fitness level and aim to gradually improve it.

If run-walk enables you to continue exercising then you may well achieve better benefits than by running for a shorter time and then having to stop. If you begin with one minute run followed by one minute walk you can gradually increase your running time and/or decrease your walking time as your fitness improves (which it will if you exercise consistently).

If you are concerned about your heart-rate or any other aspect of your fitness then speak to your G.P. before starting or increasing exercise.

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